UIS Speaker Series presents “Hiking the Keystone XL Pipeline: A 1700-Mile Eco-Adventure”

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield Engaged Citizenship Common Experience (ECCE) Speaker Series presents “Hiking the Keystone XL Pipeline: A 1700-Mile Eco-Adventure,” a talk by award-winning author Ken Ilgunas, a professional travel and environmental writer.

WHEN: Thursday, February 28, 2019, at 6 p.m.

WHERE: UIS Brookens Auditorium, located on the lower level of Brookens Library

DETAILS: Ilgunas spent 5 months hiking the entire length of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which will deliver oil from the Alberta tar sands in Canada to refineries in Texas. Along the way, he collected stories from landowners about how the pipeline will impact their lives, local environments, and the global climate. Ilgunas will share what this journey taught him about environmental politics, climate change, and culture in the American heartland. He will take an environmental studies approach, weaving together science, history, personal reflection, cultural studies and environmental philosophy.

Ilgunas has penned articles for The New York Times, Time, Backpacker, and the Chronicle of Higher Education. He is also the author of three books that have been featured on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and NPR and in The New Yorker and National Geographic. He holds a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Buffalo in history and English and a master’s degree in liberal studies from Duke University.

This event is cosponsored by the UIS Campus Senate Committee on Sustainability, UIS Department of Environmental Studies, UIS Green Fee Committee and Students Allied for a Greener Earth (SAGE).

Individuals with disabilities who anticipate the need for accommodations should contact the UIS Speaker Series Office at 217/206-8507 or speakerseries@uis.edu in advance. For a list of other upcoming ECCE Speaker Series events, visit www.uis.edu/speakerseries/.